Client accounting services (CAS) are the ongoing accounting work an accounting firm delivers to business clients, from bookkeeping and accounts receivable through month-end close to CFO-level advice, usually for a fixed recurring fee.
Why it matters in B2B collections
CAS is the fastest-growing part of many accounting firms: practices in the 2024 CPA.com and AICPA CAS Benchmark Survey reported a median growth rate of 17%. Receivables sits at its centre, because almost every CAS practice already records a client's invoices and payments, and owning the collections outcome is the step from bookkeeping to advice the client sees in the bank balance.
What CAS includes
Most practices offer transactional accounting and bookkeeping (accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and journal entries for the monthly close) and controllership (month-end close and light advisory). Many add CFO-level services such as forecasting and planning on top.
How CAS is priced
CAS has moved away from hourly billing. Most practices now bill a fixed fee payable monthly, quarterly or annually, and many pass the cost of the software their clients use straight through to the client.
Where accounts receivable fits
Recording receivables is bookkeeping; running them is a service. A CAS practice that sets each client's collections policy, lets AR software do the daily chasing and reports DSO and collected cash turns a transactional task into an advisory one.
Go deeper: AR software for accounting firms.
How this connects to other terms
- Accounts receivable (AR)
Accounts receivable is part of the transactional work almost every CAS practice does.
- DSO (days sales outstanding)
DSO is the measure a CAS practice reports when it runs collections.